Manure-spreader.



T. BROWN.

.MANUBE SPREADER. APPLICATION FILED JAN-23, 191a.

Patented July 4:, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l- \0 o o \N QN o P M a v o Qmmmw T. BROWN.- MANUBE SPREADER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN-23, x913. I 1 489,658, Patented July 4, 1916.

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Specification. Letters Patent.

Patented uly 4, 191a.v

Application flea-nausea, 191a. Serial no. 743,919.

To all whom it may concern: 1 a

'Be it known thatI. Tnnormnus Brown, j.

panying drawing.

My invention relates to improvements in comprises a vehiclehaving a loadcarrying body, supporting wheels, a rapidly revolving, distributing beater at or near the rear end of the body, means for gradually carrymg the load backward-from the forward part of the vehicle to points where it can be I engaged by the beater and can be shredded by the latter and scattered widely and uniformlyover the ground at the rear end of filnledvehicle as the latter moves across the The improvements which I have made are particularly intended'for mechanisms of the subclass known as low down Spreaders. It is now well-known that numerous important advantages are incident to machines ofthis class. Theyare soconstructed that" the load-supporting and rearward feedingdevices at the bottom of the forward portion of the load receiving-and-carrying chamber are arranged relatively near the ground or in low horizontal planes. The load can not only be put. into the vehicle with much.

greater case than is the case where the receiving part or chamber of the vehicle lSelll relatively high planes; but, moreover, the center of gravity of the vehicle and of its load is lowered so that the machine can be transported with steadiness over rough and uneven ground, and can be moved by the team much more easily'than when the center of gravity is in an elevated plane. And numerous designs for .low down machines have been proposed. These may be regarded as'typified the mechanism shown in my Patent No. 986,903, dated March 11,

1911. and reissued as N0..13,318 on the 21st day of November, 1911. .Under many circumstances,however, difficulty has been experienced with machinesof this sub class as heretoforeconstructed, largely because of the factthat the. low positionof the load mounting .for the beater, and consequently, the distance-from the heater to the ground being reduced, the scattering action of thedistributing parts is equivalently reduceda One of the purposes of the present inventioh 13 toprovide. a mechanism of this class which shall, .retain the established advan tages of the; low. down load-carrier and feeder, and yet make available the advantages incident to the machines which have the rapidly revolving distributing beatersin toward the top' a relatively high position, planes of the vehicles; 1

When the beater is thus arranged in relatively elevated position, it becomes practically necessary to support it upon the light,

upwardly projecting parts of the sides or: framework of the vehicle. And experiencehas shown that this arrangement'of the distributer, in turn, introduces disadvantages which it is necessary to avoid.- The rapid rotations, vibrations and jars that are imparted to the vehicle and its'framefrom the rapid movements of the beater speedily loosen thelight'er parts of the mounting and support and subject them to tendency to breakage. This I overcome by so arranging the rear driving ground wheels and their axle that these parts, (particularly those forming parts of or adjacent to the axle structure itself,) can be utilized as a bracing and binding mechanism for strengthening the beater supporting elements. The axle is extended continuously across the vehicle from oneground wheel to the other. and the body is supported upon it in such way that it sustains the heater and counteracts. its

tendency to jar, loosen and break the sup-- porting parts. But this arrangement of the axle, that is, extending it entirely across the body, in turn, introduces difliculties, inasmuch as it, the axle, is thus placed above the horizontal plane of the load-supporting-audfieedingelements in the front'part of the vehicle, and it. lies directly in the normal back d, to ar the rear These latter patlrof the material as it is .being moved .supporting-and-feeding device in the forward part of the vehicle and elevating it to planes above and carrying it over, the axle to the relatively elevated beater. I am thus enabled to combine in one machine all of the advantages'above specified; to have the loadreceiving chamber in low planes; to dispose the distributing beater in relatively high position where it can effectively scatter the manure over a wide space; to brace and.

strengthen the side structures and the framework of the body by means of an axle positioned well above the bottom parts of the structure, even though this axle is in a position where it would not only normally impede but entirely stop the backward feeding of the material; and to carry the material upward from the low support at the front to the elevated beater at the rear.

Any of various means can be used for carrying the material from the front lower support to points above and around the axle, 'such as a supplemental endless apron car- ,r1er,-a rotating cylinder or drum, or a stil tionary floor-like chute or guide upon which the material can rise and go backward, impelled in any preferred way. In the present instance, I employ a short supplemental apron, so arranged as to receive the material from the rear part of the main load-supporting and feeding apron. It travels around the axle and finally delivers the ma terial to the feeder or distributer. There are a number of advantages incident to this form oflnechanism, as will be understood fronrtlie description below.

In-tliidrawings, Figure 1 is a side elevationof a manure distributer embodying my improvements, with a rear wheel removed to show the feeder driving mechanisms. Fig. 2 is an elevation of the side opposite that shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a rear elevation. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side elevation showing a modified arrangement of supplemental apron drive. Fig. 6 is a fragmentary vertical longitudinal sectional view of a modified form of movable bottom.

In the drawings, the machine as illustrated is a manure spreader of the low down 1 class in which a through strengthening rear axle carries relatively large ground wheels and is'ipositioned to bring the lower strata of the load mass in planes relatively near the ground.

The sills 1 extend from points at the rear of the throughaxle 2 beneatlrthe axle forward along the bottom of the body to the front end and are there turned upward, as at P. At the frontupper ends they are joined by a transverse bolster 3 which in turn is supported bv the'fi th wheel 1t, front beater shaft 13.

axle 5, and relatively small front ground wheels 6. The side sills are joined'together at suitable intervals by the cross braces 7 and tie-rods 8, which hold the sills in rigid parallel relation to one another and thus provide a rigid supporting frame for the load mass.

Side boards 9 extend upward from the I sills 1 andare secured in place by vertical braces 10. The load masses are confined against the forwardly inclined portions 1 of the sills. A transverse angle bar 12 is bolted across the sills at the upper end of their inclination and serves as a further support for the inclined front board.

At the rear of the vehicle body there is a transverse shaft 13 which is journaled in brackets 11 carried upon the side sills 1 and side boards 9. The transverse shaft 13 carries a rotary beater ll provided withthe usual form of distributing fingers 15 which- An endless movable apron 16 forms the bottom of the vehicle along its front portion and operates around suitable sprocket wheels carried upon the forward transverseshaft 17, and a rear transverse shaft 18. The forward shaft 17 is so positioned and secured to the under side of the sills 1 that the apron extends under the lower edge of the front board 11, and the rear apron carrying shaft 18 is journaled beneath the side sills 1. at a point adjacent to but slightly in advance ofthe through axle 2.

A second 'or supplemental apronv 19 rotates around sprockets 20 loosely journaled on the through axle 2, and sprockets 21 car-.

ried by the shaft 22 journaled beneath the rear end of the sills 1. This positioning of the two aprons places them-in such a relation that the forward end of the apron 19 slightly overlaps the rearward end of the apron 16, the uppermost surface of the apron 19 then extending rearward and downward to points beneath the beater 14. The upper stretches of the apronf16 are in an approximately horizontal plane and carry the load rearward to a point where it comes in contact with the apron 19 the forward end of which elevates the load mass upward and over the axle and then carries it rearward and downwardto the rapidly rotating beater 1 1.

The beater driving mechanism comprises the axle driven sprocket 23, chain connected to a smaller sprocket 24, which rotates upon a stub shaft 25 carried in one of the brackets 14, the gear 26 secured to the sprocket 24, and the pinion 27 carried by the end of the The forwardly moving sprocket 23 through the chain 28 drives the greases Y sprocket\24 in a clockwisedirection. The

gear 26 carried by the sprocket 24 therefore the distributing beater wilt-move upward and rearward carrying theshredded particles of manure upward from the load and spreading them in a shower or spray the ground.

A clutch mechanism, 29 is placed between the through axle 2 and. the sprocket wheel 23 and is connectedby means of the levers and rod 80, 31, and 32, so that the sprocket may upon be connected to or disconnected from theaxle at the will of the operator riding on the front of the machine. By moving the hand lever 32 in one direction the-clutch connects the wheel driven axle 2 to the sprocket 23 causing the heater to rotate rapidly in a 'rearward'direction for distributing the load. 7 On the lever being moved'in the opposite direction the clutch is thrown out of engagement and the beater is allowed to come to rest. a

i The ground wheels 33 carried at each end of the. through axle 2 are provided at their hubs with ratchet mechanisms 34 which connect the wheels to the axle when they are' rotating in the forward direction only, thus provlding an equalizing gear which is of advantage principally in turning corners where one wheel 'rotatesfaster than the other.

The rearward shaft 18 around which rotates the front apron -16 is driven at a slow rate of speed directly from the beater axle 13 through .a pawl and ratchet mechanism.

A collar 35 is secured to the end of the shaft 1? opposite to that on which the pin 1011 27 is secured and carries a crank pin 36 upon which the rear ends of two pitmen 37 are journal-ad. The front pitmen 37 extend upon opposite sides of the axle 2 and at their forward ends are j ournaled or pivotally connected to the outer ends of the two ratchet arms 38 which at their centers are loosely mounted upon the shaft 18. The ratchet arms 38 carry two pawls 39 which contact with the ratchet teeth 40 cut in the periphery of a ratchet wheel 41 loosely journaled upon the shaft 18. Pawl blankets 42 are connected by means of a rod -13 to a lever 4st at the front of the machine within reach of the operator. The blankets are'so positioned that on being rotated in one direction or theother the effective throw of the ratchet pawls 39 is varied and the speed or rate of load feed thereby increased or decreased at the will of the operator. An eccentric gear pawl and ratchet. This apron lockis shown and described in my co-pending application,

shaft 18 causing the apron 16 to move rearwardly at a slow rate of speed, and as the shaft 18 is in turn connected to the shaft 22, the apron 19 will likewise move rearwardly at thesame speed.

' In Fig. I have shown a modified arrangement of gearing in which the sprocket 45 'mounted on the end of the shaft 18 drives through a chain i6 a smaller sprocket t7 on the shaft 22. This modifica'' tion permits the second apron.19 to be driven at a rate in excess of that of the apron 16, thus permitting the load mass after. having been raised up over the axle 20 and thereby loosened, to be fed down the inclined apron 19 at, an increased speed, thus further disintegrating the load mass and shaking it up before: it comes in contact with the rotating heater.

.gstarts or stops the rearward movement of the load mass. By operating the lever 44, variations in the rate of distribution, as for example the number of bushels spread per acre, is obtained.

In this machine I have positioned .the parts so that a through strengthening axle is usedin connection with a low down body and a beater carried at points remote from.

the axle. The axle passes through what would normally be the pathv of the load in its rearward travel to the beater. The supplemental apron rotating around the axle serves as-one of its purposes to remove the material from in front of the axle, elevate it above the axle and advance it rearward to the beater. The forward apron supports the main body of manure and advances it rearward to a point slightly in front of the rear axle. The rear supplemental apron overlaps the forward apron, catches the rearward moving load at a point in front of the axle, carries it upward and then downward on an incline to the beater. This action loosens the body of manure as it nears the distributing heater and as a result the manure is spread more evenly and with less '95 The control of the entire machine both as 1 power. The breaking up'of the load a few feet ahead of the heater and its passage backward and downward to the beater in a loose' mass, lightens the draft very con' 1 The parts 16 and '19 constitute the entirety of the bottom structure extending-from the beater to the front end board and this .may

be regarded as having a front portion, a

portion adjacent to and moving upward and over the axle, and a portion movmg-backward from a line above the axle to the beater.

These portions of the bottom structure'are shown as composed of two, or more, aprons,- but I'do not intend to limit myself to such a specific form of'apparatus, as thepurposes at which I aim can be -accomplished with modified apron structures, or other devices.

' These purposes relate to having the forward portion of the bottom structure in relatively low planes, and having it move the material" backward in the horizontal lines of the axle, and then lifting and lightening up the ma-v terial by the second portion of the bottom structure which moves up from the plane of. the forward section and carries the materialover the axle ivith a positive lifting action, and to having the material earned backwa1'd,,and preferably somewhat downward,-

to the beater by'thethird portion ofthe bottom structure;

Themodification shown in Fig. 5 permits of the rear supplemental apron traveling at a speed greater than that of the forward apronf This insures a better pul-verization ofthe'load and also prevents any clogging of the material between the rear end of the forward apron and the forward end of the rear apron. s

- A further advantage possessed by my improved spreader is the positioning of the lower strata of the load mass contained within the body of the vehicle inplanes rela- 'tivel v close to the ground without at the same time limiting the vertical position of the rotary beater to one in which itslower path of travel passes through the lower a devicefor receiving the load or taking it from the first conveyor and by means of this second arrangement carry it into any desired vertical plane, it is possible for me to posi tion'the rotary beater at a Vertical height independent of the planes in which the major portion of the load mass is carried.

' On the other hand I have overcome the disadvantages incident to mounting the heavy rapidlyfrotating beater at a distance-from the axles and sills by passing the ground wheelcarrying axle directly through the sides of thevehicle above the sills and thus rigidly hold the sides of the vehicle from ',dest ructive vibration and side movement. I .In the modification shown inFig. 6 I have substituted for the supplemental apron 19 shown in the other'views', a slowly rotating drum 50 concentric to the axle'2 and loosely journaled thereon. Short spikes or teeth 51 are 1nserted 'i-n the periphery of the drum to assist .in gripping the lower strata of. the,

load to raise it up and over the axle to the d1str1but1ng beater."= In this'case the main apron 16 is lowered 'considerab'lybelow thef axle 2-and the shaft 13 of the distributing beater is raised to points considerably higher than the position shown in the other views.

sprocket wheel 23, chain 28, a small sprocket 24, andthe gear and pinion connecting the The beater is driven through a mechanism a shaft 25 with the beater shaft 13 being in driven through a pawl and ratchet-niech anism, as shown .in Fig. 2. The drum 50 is driven through a sprocket 52, chain 53, and

sprocket The train of motion is there -d'icated by dotted lines. The shaft 18' about which rotates the rear end of the apron 16 is 1. In a manure spreadeiythe combination of the front wheels, the rear wheels, the body, the rear axle extending directly through the body, the movable bottom support for the material arranged to carry it directly. toward, and on the horizontal lines axle and in horizontal planes below it and carry it over the axle and deliver itto the rapidly rotating beater.

-2. In a manure spreader, the combination of the front wheels. the rear wheels, the body, the rear axle extending directly through the body, the movable bottoni support for the material arranged to carry it directly toward, and on horizontal lines of, the-axle, a rapidly rotating beater on an axis behind the axle. and an endless apron supplemental to the aforesaid movable bottom support. and arranged to receive the material delivered therefrom at points in front of the axle and carry it past the latter and deliver it to the rapidly rotating beater.

In a manure spreader. the combination of the rear wheels, the body, the rear axle extending directly, through the body, theuas to carry material directly toward the latter, a rapidly rotating beater in the rear part of the body on an axis behind the axle, a second supplemental endless apron having its front part mounted directly on the axle and driven there-by and arranged to take material from the first aforesaid apron and lift it over the axle and deliver it to the beater.

4:. 'In a manure spreader, the combination of a vehicle body, a movable bottom therein for supporting and feeding the material rearward, the rear ground wheels, the through axle extending from one ground wheel to the other and situated above the carrying apron, the rotary distributer on an axis above the through axle, and movable means for supporting and guiding the material of the load on lines extending over the axle as said material is moved backward.

5. In a manure spreader, the combination of a vehicle body, means for supporting and feeding the material backward in the Vehicle, the rear ground wheels, a through axle passing across the body from one ground wheel to the other and having its axis situated above the said means for feeding the material backward, a distributing beater behind the axle, and moving means supplemental to the distributer for passing the material lying in the horizontal planes of the bottom part of the load mass, a distributing beater mounted on an axis above and at the rear of the axle and arranged to have its operative parts rotate across the horizontal planes of the upper part of the load mass, and asupplemental movable bottom element for transferring the load from the aforesaid bottom element in the forward body structure to the beater.

In testimony whereof I ailix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

THEOPHILUS BROWVN.

Witnesses H. B. MoKAinN, JOSEPH Hr Bnowxmo. 

